


forty-five pounds

by justlikeswitchblades



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, M/M, No Dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 18:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4148850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justlikeswitchblades/pseuds/justlikeswitchblades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nitori was lifting weights, Sousuke had no doubt in his mind that he could conquer the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	forty-five pounds

**Author's Note:**

> aka that one damn end card has been haunting me since the first time i saw it

When Nitori was lifting weights, Sousuke had no doubt in his mind that he could conquer the world.

It would have been laughable to even _think_ such thoughts when he had first ran into him in the gym one night, of course, the swim team summoned there by their captain’s orders at the start of the school year to improve their strength. Sousuke was a little suspicious himself of Rin’s fixation on some small team from some no-name school, but rooming with the teen himself rendered him unable to skip, so, grumbling about the pointlessness a little vocally and figuring out what he could do without irritating his shoulder more quietly, he walked himself down to the gym.

He hadn’t been too impressed with Nitori at practice—Rin had said some positive things about him, but, as far as he was convinced, the boy still swam on the lower end of average. As a general rule, he tended to avoid those who seemed like they weren’t putting their all into their athletics, and would have tolerated his presence at practice at best without ever properly associating with him. But seeing Nitori hovering meekly near Rin in the gym that night, hoping to steal him away whenever he finished talking to a group of first years changed his mind, and out of a mixture of secondhand embarrassment and frustration, he grabbed the boy’s arm and dragged him off to the bench, saving him from a hyper ginger-haired first year at the same time.

Nitori, at first, was grateful to be rescued from his loud kouhai, but quickly stiffened upon realizing that it was Sousuke who helped him. He tossed a nervous glance back in Rin’s direction and with a quick thank you, he would have nearly started back towards him, if not for Sousuke’s words pinning him to the spot, telling him to get on the bench. He obediently laid down, all the while nervously babbling about how he had never lifted weights before, barely aware that Sousuke had already lowered the bar into his hands until he snapped to reality a rep and a half later. He made it through the first set without too much difficulty, though signs of struggle had started to show halfway through the second, and were much more evident in the third, his face flushed a faint pink, features contorting. Sousuke had opened his mouth to bark a few words of encouragement at him, but Nitori managed to push through the last few reps on his own, which was something that finally earned him a little respect in Sousuke’s mind, to his surprise.

Gym day dawned again a few days later, and Sousuke found himself a bit more open to the idea of spotting Nitori than before. He had lingered by the bench, trying not to stare too much as Sousuke made his way through his workout, and it wasn’t like Sousuke could turn him down—certainly not after watching his face light up when he finally approached him. 

So he spotted him for the second time.

It had taken Sousuke a while to notice that they had fallen into routine, but when he did, he couldn’t say he had reason to complain. Nitori, although small, had a drive that often appeared to be buried under doubt and insecurity, but even at times when his faith in himself seemed to waver, it still shone through. He would voice his concerns whenever Sousuke added a new plate to the barbell, but he never turned the challenge down, and would get through as many reps as he could until he reached failure. When he started to view failure in more of a positive light, Sousuke couldn’t help but be proud.

Learning to accept Nitori as a teammate and a friend was something that became easier to Sousuke as time went on, along with taking mutual joy in his progress. Finding him attractive was something that was a little more difficult to process.

Sousuke hadn’t really bothered with his sexuality for most of his life—swimming was more than enough to occupy him, and he always figured that he had admired professional swimmers’ bodies because of the hard work they put in to gain such physiques. Catching himself glancing at Nitori during practice, lean muscles carved from his efforts in the water, his body very dissimilar to his own, did not let him adhere to his oft-repeated argument. He decided he would try to ignore it, to wait it out, even through increased instances of daydreaming during class and evenings of lingering in his doorway as they both tried to procrastinate on classwork.

One night over a Pocari, Nitori had been expressing his fears of the summer ending, of not being able to see his friends anymore, and Sousuke, perhaps wanting to give him evidence of some kind of certainty in the universe, perhaps unable to deny himself any longer, decided to kiss him. He wasn’t sure how it would play over, and Nitori’s insecurities trickled in, questioning why _him_ of all people, something Sousuke could not quite answer—it just _was_. He brushed kisses over his skin until the doubt faded away, and Nitori relaxed, smiling, thankful that one of them had finally grown brave enough to confess.

The first time Nitori cried when he found out about his shoulder. The tears weren’t so much out of pity as they were out of anger—he was angry about the implied lack of trust, angry about how swimming and helping him lift were just injuring him further. It took a few days for them to figure out to rebuild, their steps fumbling and awkward, but ultimately seeking something beyond rushed kisses in the hallways and stolen locker room glances.

The second time Nitori cried was at graduation, and it was much more happier this time, the boy now confident in the fact that his friends wouldn’t be abandoning him, but still a little mournful of losing their physical presence. Sousuke did his best to quell his concerns, and the night before he moved out, they found themselves in the gym again, as if nothing were changing.

But, as Sousuke thought about the sheer number of weight rooms in the world, he supposed that, ultimately, not much would.


End file.
